


The Princess and the Healer

by blackgoliath



Category: Aladdin (1992), 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Genre: Alternate Universe - Aladdin (1992) Fusion, F/F, First Meeting, MXTX Ladies Week, Pre-Relationship, aladdin counts as a royalty au right, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-18 18:14:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20643512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackgoliath/pseuds/blackgoliath
Summary: Qin Su, daughter of the emperor, just wants to be on her own for one night before she meets her potential betrothed. While outside the palace walls, she inadvertently meets a 'street rat' and also, his sister.Written for MXTX Ladies Week, prompt: Royalty AU





	The Princess and the Healer

**Author's Note:**

> and here I didn't think I'd get time to do anything for an event I quarter-helped create! amazing.
> 
> today's theme: doctor doctor, give me the news I got a - bad case of loving you

In the early evening, the marketplace is still bustling with last-minute shoppers, stalls trying to finish any fresh stock they brought before night falls and it’s time to go home. With the plain, scratchy brown cloak she wore, hood pulled up over her hair and covering a good portion of her face, Qin Su is able to blend right in with the crowds. She keeps one hand on her hood to make certain that it doesn’t fall, and the other clutches the front of her cloak, despite how it’s fastened all the way to her hips in order to hide her expensive bodice and skirts from view. 

She sees the guards patrolling the marketplace, every now and again, and every time she hides her face further, hurrying past. She doubts any of them will recognize her in this attire but she can’t risk it; it’s been so long since she’s been able to sneak out of the palace, so caught up with her duties and training and  _ suitors _ that she hasn’t had the chance. 

Right now, she’s supposed to be readying herself for tomorrow, when her next suitor - a man named Jin Guangyao, son of one of her father’s favored advisors, Jin Guangshan - will be arriving. He’s apparently been away for some years studying with a famous swordsman, and now that he’s back, her father wants to finally ‘give her a good match’. 

She knows when she’s married she’ll  _ never _ be able to go out and about like this, so she’s tasting freedom while she can. 

Qin Su weaves through the stragglers, heading for the edge of the marketplace, where the empty square and the stalls give way to winding alleys between homes. There’s desert, just beyond the city walls, and she’s heard from A-die’s visitors that the stars looks even more beautiful when they’re glittering over the shimmering dunes. She can see specks of it from her window, sometimes, and during sandstorms she certainly experiences  _ plenty _ of sand, yet. She wants to see it up close, to climb somewhere high enough that she can look out over the wall and gaze out into the horizon, where the velvety night sky meets the sand. 

Her slippered feet quicken their pace. She can see the edge of the marketplace, now, and there are less guards in the residential areas; or so she thinks. She mostly knows about the city surrounding her father’s palace from her handmaidens, who often come from local families. It’ll be easier to lose any pursuers there, as surely her retinue has realized by now that she was not, in fact, where she said she would be. 

She doesn’t think about the fact that  _ she _ might get lost. 

There are a few more weathered stalls at the edge, stalls that weren’t able to get good locations in the square proper and therefore don’t make as much. She doesn’t pay much attention to them, having no coin on her to buy anything even if she was interested; but something does catch her eye, and she slows down. 

A young boy, eight years old at most, peeks out from one of the darkening alleys. He spies one of the stands, one selling apples, and steps more into the open. Behind him is a much smaller girl, who bears enough resemblance to the boy that Qin Su assumes they’re siblings. They’re both dirty and barefooted, with tattered, thin rags for clothes.  _ Orphans, _ Qin Su thinks, watching as the two children stare at those apples. She sees the little girl sniffle before murmuring something to her brother; in the fading light as the sun sets, Qin Su thinks the girl’s lips form the words  _ I’m hungry. _

The edge of the marketplace is so close, only a few feet away. Qin Su is almost there. Yet...

She steps over toward the fruit stall. Its owner seems preoccupied, arguing with the owner of the stall beside his, one that sells tattered old rugs. It’s the end of the night and these apples won’t be as fresh tomorrow, anyway, likely won’t sell at all, so surely he won’t miss one…? 

  
Qin Su plucks one of the older looking apples from the edge of the stall, then steps over to the children after wiping it clean on her cloak. “Here,” she whispers, holding it out on the palm of her hand. The little boy stares up at her, wide-eyed. “Go ahead, take it. It’s alright.” 

When the boy doesn’t move, his little sister reaches for it, her tiny hands curling around the apple with glee. She’s just about to take a bite when a voice behind them roars, “Hey! Are you gonna pay for that?!” 

Qin Su whirls, automatically putting the children behind her. “I, I’m sorry, sir, I have no coin,” she stammers. The owner of the fruit stall is advancing on her, and her heart jumps into her throat. “But...it’s just one apple, it’s the end of the night and these children are starving. Can’t you let them have just one apple…? Please, sir.” 

The man’s face turns beet red, as if Qin Su has personally insulted his mother. He towers over her, at least a foot and a half taller and thick as a column. 

“‘It’s just one apple’,” he mocks in a high falsetto. Qin Su takes a step back, and despite her fear, she puts her hand behind her back and gestures for the children to flee. “That’s my livelihood you’re stealing, you beggar bitch! Guards! GUARDS! This woman’s a thief! Arrest her!” 

The man bellows at the top of his lungs, pulling away from her so he can holler toward the center of the marketplace. She can already see those patrolling guards from before running toward them, and so she pivots on her heel, stumbling over the bottoms of her skirts as she flees. She doesn’t know where she’s going, only that she needs to be away from here before the guards catch her and bring her home and tell her father  _ your daughter was caught stealing an apple in the marketplace she’s forbidden from entering. _

She leaves the marketplace behind, turning a corner into an alley, then down a side street, then into another alley. She isn’t at all paying attention to where she’s going, but it doesn’t seem to matter; she can hear the shouts of the guards getting closer. They’re gaining on her. 

It’s not surprising, considering the most physical exercise she’s ever done is practicing her balance. The guards are trained in this, much faster than her. They’re going to catch her, she knows it. Panic has her breath coming in gasps, her muscles screaming as she pushes herself to go faster,  _ faster _ . 

She rounds yet another corner, flying out onto an empty street, when suddenly someone grabs her arm and yanks her into a side alley. She takes a deep breath, instinctively opening her mouth to scream, when a hand comes over her mouth and muffles any noises she makes. 

The grip on her is strong, so when the person holding her speaks she’s so shocked she goes still. 

“P-Please don’t scream.” It’s a man, she can tell that much by his voice. He sounds like he’s about to cry. “I, I’ll let you go, promise, but--but if you scream, they’ll hear you and they’ll find you. I don’t want to see you get thrown into the emperor’s dungeon when, when you just wanted to help those kids.” 

Qin Su blinks a few times. The hand keeping her hood in a vice grip slowly slackens but doesn’t let go, and when she nods, the man drops his arms and steps back.    
  
She turns around to face him, and finds he’s a boy almost her own age. He’s scrawny, with long hair crudely tied in a high ponytail, wearing clothes similar to those children and no shoes. Another orphan, clearly, and where Qin Su had been scared he would do to her the things her father warned men did to women walking alone in the city, now she only feels bad for him. He’s hugging himself and keeping his head tilted down, dark eyes darting up every so often to look at her before dropping again. 

“I...thank you.” Qin Su straightens her cloak, pulls her hood down further. “What’s your name?” 

“Wen Ning.” His voice is quiet, meek. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Wen Ning. I’m--” She catches herself, then swallows and says, “Call me Suyin.” 

“Um. O-Okay.” Wen Ning glances up again, then at the mouth of the alley. “I’m sorry I, I pulled you like that. But we should go, before the guards--” 

He cuts himself off as the sound of pounding feet grows closer, paling in the moonlight. Without another word, he holds out his hand. Qin Su only hesitates for a second before she takes it, and then he’s running, practically flying across the hard-packed dirt, Qin Su stumbling as she tries to keep up. She doesn’t have the time to wonder how he can be so fleet-footed with no shoes as he tears across the next street into the darkness of another alley, and then he lets go and he. 

He  _ leaps, _ easily landing atop an awning someone has installed over their door. He leans down over one side, hand held out. 

“I’ll help you up,” he whispers, and Qin Su believes him. 

The rest of their flight is a blur as Qin Su spends all of her energy trying to keep up, trying not to trip or fall behind or make too much noise in case the guards hear them. Wen Ning is like a ghost in these alleys, pulling her along while hardly making a sound, helping her scale buildings and leap over the gaps between roofs and do things Qin Su had never even dreamed she would do. She doesn’t understand how such a timid boy could have the confidence to do things like this, to have the strength to pull her up onto ledges and windowsills and awnings. She keeps one hand on her hood at every chance she can so that it doesn’t fly off her head, yet this self-handicap doesn’t seem to matter at all. 

Finally, they reach a building that looks much the same as any other, and Wen Ning lets go of her. He’s gone shy again, wringing his hands as he stares at the door set into the wall of the alley, nervous tension practically radiating off of him.    


“You have to be very quiet,” he whispers to her. “We can hide here until the guards calm down and stop looking, but you have to be quiet. If she hears you--"

“If I hear  _ what _ , Wen Ning?” 

Her companion squeaks, and both look up to find that, while Wen Ning had been talking, someone had opened the door. Someone is standing in said doorway, arms crossed over her chest, gaze sharp as she stares Wen Ning down. He cowers under that gaze, while Qin Su…

There was a ray of moonlight slanting over the stranger’s face. During their escape, the last of the day’s light and warmth had retreated, the cold moon rising high over the city. Now, it illuminates the woman before them, a woman with eyes like smouldering embers and stern, beautiful features. Qin Su is grateful to have the hood covering her face, with how warm her cheeks are becoming. 

“Th-This, this is Suyin. Cheng Yaojin tried to get her arrested for, for giving A-Bao and A-Jie an apple.” 

“Did she  _ pay _ for the apple?” 

“I…” Qin Su speaks up, and when both Wen Ning and the woman’s gaze turn on her, she ducks her head, dropping into a curtsy despite herself. “I didn’t. I have no coin. But it...it was only one apple…” 

“Well, that was your mistake. Cheng Yaojin is as stingy as they come. He wouldn’t give an apple to his dying mother without making her pay for it.” The woman glances between the two of them, then sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Alright. Come in. You can stay here until this all blows over.” 

She turns and steps inside, Wen Ning meekly following behind her and Qin Su behind him. She quietly closes the door to keep the cool night breezes outside, then turns to look around. 

She’s in the back of a shop of some sort. There are several crates stacked neatly in the corner, and rows upon rows of bottles set onto shelves. When she steps closer to read them, she finds that they’re medicine. *A healer…?*    
  
“S-Suyin?” Wen Ning calls, and Qin Su hurries toward the sound. A curtain separates the shop from what is likely a living area, and Qin Su carefully pushes through it to see that Wen Ning and the woman are kneeling across from each other at a low table. There’s a teapot in the center of it, and three steaming cups of tea - one left beside Wen Ning, and clearly meant for her. 

She gratefully bows her head before sitting down. 

The woman looks her over. In the dancing light of the candles, she looks ever more beautiful, and Qin Su finds it hard not to stare. “I am Wen Qing,” the woman says at last. “And you are...Suyin, yes?” 

“Y...Yes.”

“And why were you out alone at night with no coin?” 

Qin Su stiffens as Wen Qing goes on. “Don’t you understand how dangerous it is to be alone at night here? There are thieves and muggers and much, much worse that prowl the streets when it’s dark. And if you get cornered by someone who’s angry that you don’t have any coin to give them, they might take something else instead.”   
  
Qin Su shakes her head hard, not wanting to hear it, not wanting to hear the same sort of stories A-die used to tell her about the city. “I, I know it’s dangerous! My father told me. I just...I just wanted to see the desert at night. That’s all.” 

“Oh! I can show you that.” Wen Ning fidgets a little when Qin Su looks at him, yet still retains a small smile. “I know a great place where we can see it, once the guards get tired of looking for you we can go.” 

A warmth blooms in Qin Su’s chest, and she nods. “Yes, yes I’d like that. Thank you, Wen Ning--”

“No.” Wen Qing’s firm voice cuts through their chatter, and both turn to her. She’s staring at Qin Su with something unreadable in her eyes, and Qin Su feels her heart stall. 

“B-But, Qing-jie…” Wen Ning swallows audibly. “Why not?” 

“Because you didn’t bring home some poor woman off the street, Wen Ning.” She gestures toward Qin Su. “Don’t you understand who this woman is?” 

Wen Ning continues to look confused, but Qin Su understands immediately. She’d forgotten to keep a hold on her hood, and when she shook her head it slipped, revealing her face and the beginnings of the elaborate braiding of her hair. 

“Your Highness Qin Su,” Wen Qing says, bowing her head. Wen Ning goes pale. “I apologize for any misconduct my brother has committed tonight. Please, don’t blame him. He’s young yet, he’ll learn. There’s no need for punishment.” 

While Wen Qing’s words are even and precise, Qin Su can tell at a glance that she’s...she’s shaking. Her hands are fisted in her lap, so tightly that her knuckles are white. She’s  _ scared _ . Scared of Qin Su. Scared of what Qin Su will do to Wen Ning. 

_ “I don’t want to see you get thrown into the dungeon when, when you just wanted to help those kids.” _ That’s what Wen Ning had said, when he helped her. She hadn’t really thought of it at the time, believing it to be an exaggeration, or something Wen Ning had heard once and believed to be true. She feels awful for thinking it, but he seems the gullible type. Except….except  _ Wen Qing _ is scared of that same outcome, it seems. And though she’s only known the woman for maybe ten minutes, Qin Su has the distinct impression that Wen Qing is rarely afraid of anything.

_ Has father really been imprisoning people for something as small as stealing an apple?  _

The thought makes her blood run cold, and despite how she doesn’t want to think of it, the logical path her mind takes reveals another awful question: If something like that earns one a trip to the dungeon, what would happen to someone harboring a runaway princess? Or, even worse, what would happen to someone her father decided  _ kidnapped _ his daughter?

For a moment, Qin Su can’t breathe. 

“I, I--! I wouldn’t! Wen Ning helped me, I would never, I--” She pushes herself to her feet, nearly falling over in her haste. “I’ll go. I’ll, I’ll go back on my own, I won’t tell anyone you helped me. I’m so sorry, I...I only wanted to get out of the palace. I’m never allowed to leave, I really, really just wanted to see the desert at night. I’m sorry. Thank you.”    
  
She can feel the tears welling in her eyes, her terror overwhelming her. She’s not sure how she can face her father again, after this --  _ maybe it’s not true, maybe it  _ is  _ all just a rumor, maybe they’re poor and jealous and want something to be scared about to make themselves feel better  _ \-- but if it keeps the kind boy and his sister from facing some kind of retaliation for a crime they didn’t commit, she will.

At least, that’s the plan, until she feels a hand on her arm, just like she had when Wen Ning pulled her into the alley. This time, though, it’s Wen Qing, who’s frowning even as she takes a handkerchief and dabs at Qin Su’s wet cheeks. 

“Gods strike me down for this, but I believe you.” Wen Qing sighs for what must be the fourth time since Qin Su has met her, long-suffering and tired, yet. The handkerchief in her hands is gentle, her hold careful. Qin Su can feel her pulse quickening again. She swallows. 

“We’ve all heard stories of the princess who keeps to herself, too good to mingle with the common folk.” Wen Qing keeps talking, Qin Su staring up at her with her mouth hanging open as she tries to process such a rumor. “Sounds like you’ve been kept prisoner instead. I hate the thought of a woman being locked up like that, so I’ll make you a deal: you head home on your own in the morning, and Wen Ning shows you the desert tonight. Don’t think about even breathing a word about us to the sultan, or I’ll let him know exactly why we found you and what you were doing that got you chased. Understood?” 

It’s a threat, and if it were coming from anyone but a healer, would be an empty one. Wen Qing looks serious when she says it, staring into Qin Su’s eyes, driving the point home that she  _ will _ bring Qin Su down with them if she says anything to her father to incriminate them.

It’s a threat and Qin Su should be scared and upset and worried. Instead, she nods, licking her suddenly dry lips. 

“U-Understood. I swear I...I won’t say a thing.” 

“Good.” Wen Qing finally pulls away, and Qin Su finds that she feels colder without that touch. “Don’t be long. I expect you both back within an hour, lest your dinner be fed to other children of the neighborhood.”

Qin Su thinks she sees Wen Ning duck his head to hide a smile out of the corner of her eye. “Yes, Qing-jie. We’ll be home on time.” 

He comes closer, offering his hand to Qin Su. She takes it without hesitation, this time. Already, she thinks she trusts these two more than anyone she knows, other than her father. It’s naive and it’s ridiculous - she can already hear her father’s voice in her mind, admonishing her for thinking such things - yet. 

Everyone in the palace treats her like a porcelain figure, something fragile that will shatter if touched. Even the guards her father assigns never see her lies coming, never believe she would be smart enough, bold enough, to give them the slip. Yet within a few hours, not only did Wen Ning help her scale buildings and face heights she’s never experienced, Wen Qing threatened her and believed her and, and--

It’s very stupid. These people could be conning her, ready to kill her. She could be kidnapped and stuffed into a wine cellar. All of her father’s warnings could come true. 

All of this runs through her mind as Wen Ning pulls her out into the night. She glances one last time at Wen Qing, and when she looks ahead again, hurrying to keep up, she can’t stop smiling. 

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> as I said, this is for MXTX Ladies Week, which is amazing and all y'all should join it. check out the twitter [here!](https://twitter.com/mxtx_ladiesweek)
> 
> you can also find me [on twitter](https://twitter.com/shangqinghuas)


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